In Loving Memories
by Subtlynice
Summary: Breaking Dawn Spoilers: Edward's point of view in the last three pages of Breaking Dawn. Edward/Bella fluff. Winner of the "Most Romantic" category in the Twilight Awards' Breaking Dawn Round.


A/N: Okay, so I finished Breaking Dawn and I just _needed_ to write something. Since this was the very last scene, it stuck in my mind. So, this is the last three pages told from Edward's perspective. Oh, and if anyone wants to know my opinion on Breaking Dawn: I loved it.

Disclaimer: All but two of the italicised passages are taken directly from the books. Also, much of the dialogue is from Breaking Dawn. But it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

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In Loving Memories

Together, we carried our Nessie to her room and tucked her in. She was sleeping soundly; the similarity to her mother was remarkable as she slept. But then again, I was probably biased- half my time with Bella during her mortal life had been spent watching her sleep.

Bella paused for a moment, then pulled Aro's present from around her neck and tossed it carelessly into the corner of the room, where it lay glinting in the moonlight. I smiled ruefully; would I ever know the motivations her mind gave her for such simple, yet infuriatingly unreadable actions?

We walked hand in hand to our own room, finally alone for the first time in far too many hours of pain and anxiety. But it was over now, and I relished in the freedom I felt.

"A night for celebrations," I murmured, pulling my wife towards me.

And then she _pulled away_.

I gazed at her questioningly, too shocked to actually form a sentence. Well _that_ was a first. Not that Bella didn't always surprise me…

"Wait," she said softly. When she noticed my puzzled expression, she smiled and further explained, "I want to try something."

I was still bewildered, my mind reeling, as she placed her hands on either side of my face and her nearly-amber eyes fluttered closed. I watched as her picturesque face contorted in concentration; her forehead creased and she chewed anxiously on her bottom lip. It was heart warming to see that she'd kept her old habits even after so much change. She was still as irresistible as ever.

_Errgh, come on! Work! I _know_ I can do this! I have to! For him._

If it weren't for Bella standing in front of me, her hands pressed to my face, anchoring me to the Earth, I'm sure I would have fallen to the floor.

Bella. _Bella_. Bella's _mind_. I was instantaneously hit with crashing waves of love for this woman. She truly was beautiful- her mind was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard.

"Bella!" I breathed in wonder.

And then the tide broke through. The waves of love lapping against me I'd felt moments before, sprang up on me unexpectedly. I was suddenly drenched in it; surrounded by my love for the captivating creature before me, as I saw my love for her reflected back at me through new eyes. Through _hers_. I listened carefully, concentrating hard. I didn't want to miss a second of this.

_The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-coloured hair. He was more boyish than the others…I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful- maybe the perfect blond girl or the bronze-haired boy._

_I knew that at any moment it could be too much, and my life could end- so quickly that I might not even notice. And __yet I couldn't make myself be afraid. I couldn't think of anything, except that he was touching me._

_And then I knew I was dead. Because through the__ heavy water, I heard the sound of an angel calling my name, calling me to the only heaven I wanted._

_All I really saw was Edward's face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind… suddenly it was only the pressure of Charlie's hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle._

And more- our time on Isle Esme, most unfortunately blurred by her extraordinarily unobservant pleasure and her weaker human memory. They were only fuzzy human memories, but the _feeling_ behind them- pure, unadulterated _bliss_. Just as blissful as my own memories of those times were. I longed to hear more.

Another human memory suddenly flashed through her mind, more bliss as she felt cool hands- my own –caressing her beautifully bloated stomach with reverent, shocked gentleness. By this point I was completely blown away. The emotion, the love in her thoughts was impossible. Because it was for _me_. Even with her less capable, human mind she had still loved me with every fibre of her being.

The sheer force of these unblocked memories sent me reeling with wonder.

She loved me. Powerfully. Just as much as I'd always loved her. But then again, I should have known that all along. Was there another creature quite like Bella, with her extraordinary acceptance and beauty of self? So strong, so powerful, able to love a monster and transform him into something a little more… human.

My beautiful, glorious Bella. She complained that _I_ spoilt _her_- was there anything left for her to give me? I saw it in all in her thoughts; saturated with love so blinding that my need for her flamed into me; I was burning for her. She'd given me her trust, her love, her compassion. She'd brought me to life, and given life to our child. She'd given herself to me; body, soul and now her mind.

Her memories grew sharper now; more defined.

_The greater part of my senses and my mind were still focused on Edward'__s face…I thought I'd known his face better than my own. I'd thought this was the one sure physical thing in my whole world: the flawlessness of Edward's face. I may as well have been blind…I gasped and then struggled with my vocabulary, unable to find the right words. I needed better words._

_He kissed me, soft as a whisper at first, and then suddenly stronger, fiercer. I tried to remember to be gentle with him, but it was hard work to remember anything in the onslaught of sensation, hard to hold on to any coherent thoughts…though I didn't need oxygen, my breathing sped._

_It felt almost rude to ignore the pretty white bed, but we just weren't going to make it that far-_

I could stand it no longer: I crushed my lips to hers eagerly, fiercely, pulling her towards me and shattering her shaky concentration. She gasped as I kissed her hungrily, with the love and lust from her memories still burning in my mind. I unwillingly broke away from her and gazed wide-eyed at her beautiful; frustrated face with wonder.

"Oops, lost it!" She sighed, leaning into me with what could almost be mistaken for exhaustion. I knew the feeling- it had been a long day.

My mind still spinning with the new discoveries, it took me a moment to form a sentence. When I did, I could hear the awe and disbelief in my words.

"I _heard_ you." I said, my voice shaking slightly in a very human way. "How? How did you do that?"

"Zafrina's idea," she explained, though by this point I was barely aware of her words. "We practiced with it a few times."

I blinked dazedly at her; this incredible beauty before me. I _heard_ her mind. _I heard her mind._

And it was so beautiful. So pure and good, like Seth's. But also so… insane and funny and adorable and undeniably _Bella_. I shook my head in astonishment.

"Now you know." She said, shrugging casually. "No one's ever loved anyone as much as I love you."

I smiled widely. "You're almost right." I teased. "I know of just one exception."

"Liar."

I took her face in my hands, cradling it gently, as if she were still human, as if one wrong move from me could damage the invaluable mind locked away inside her head. I kissed her gently, but enthusiastically, and she responded with equal enthusiasm, her thoughts quite forgotten.

But I hadn't quite forgotten her thoughts, and I pulled away, greedily wanting more. Hearing Bella's perspective was so… freeing, and yet, it was addictive too. It pulled me in and kept me captive in her arms.

I hugged her tightly to me. "Can you do it again?" I asked.

She made a face at me. It was a testament to her perfection that she still looked like an angel as she wrinkled her nose up in distaste.

"It's very difficult."

I waited eagerly. If I'd thought her blood was as addictive as heroin, it was nothing compared to her mind. Or her body…

"I can't keep it up if I'm even the slightest bit distracted," she warned, as if _she_ had read _my_ thoughts.

"I'll be good." I said quickly.

She pursed her lips, then grinned mischievously and placed her hands on either side of my face once more. I waited impatiently as the same memory that I'd proved to be my undoing came into her thoughts.

_Our bodies melded together, time and time again. I wondered briefly when I would ever get tired of this; if it were possible to ever get tired of this, but it was difficult to think of much at all with the intense pleasure that clouded my mind in this moment. I heard him whispering my name huskily in my ear and concentrated on the shockingly sensory experience with my newfound vampiric clarity. I didn't want to miss a second._

Bella's grin widened and her thoughts lingered slightly on the details of that particular night…

_There was not an inch of my skin left uncovered by him. His hands caressing me; his lips devouring me__, leaving me gasping for air I no longer needed, as we fit together as perfectly as I always knew we would. His lips spoke my name with reverence as we tumbled over the edge, leaving me melting in his arms, blinded and rendered incapable of any thought but the way he filled me so completely -_

Suddenly the memory cut off; Bella's mind was once more unpenetratable. It took me nearly a whole second to realise why. I'd thrown myself at her once more- sufficiently distracting her in the process -and her shield had sprung back up around her, baring her mind from me once more. I growled in frustration with my own weakness, and she laughed at me as I pressed my lips to hers, urgently.

"Damn it," I growled, continuing to kiss her, brushing my lips from her mouth to her jaw, with renewed passion.

"We have plenty of time to work on it." She reminded me blissfully, and the crashing waves of pleasure; the burning flames of my need for her intensified painfully.

"Forever and forever and forever," I vowed.

"That sounds exactly right to me," she agreed, before my mind could no longer make out the words that we spoke, overwhelmed as I was with my love for her. But that didn't matter so much to me. We had each other. And we had _time_.

_Forever and forever and forever_

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A/N: Just so you know, reviews are my brand of heroin, so please leave me feedback!

**This story came in at first place for "Most Romantic" in The Twilight Awards' Breaking Dawn round, so thank you to everyone who voted! It's much appreciated and I'm honoured to be placed in such a category.**


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